Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah could leave in the January transfer window if Antoine Semenyo arrives at Anfield from Bournemouth, according to reports.
The Reds have been back in form over the last week or so with Arne Slot’s men beating Inter Milan in the Champions League before a 2-0 win over Brighton in the Premier League last week.
It has been a testing period for Liverpool which has seen them win just six of their last 17 matches in all competitions and they had the added complication in recent weeks of Salah’s dissatisfaction.
After being put on the bench for three consecutive games, Salah came out after the Reds’ 3-3 draw against Leeds United earlier this month to claim he’d been “thrown under the bus” by Liverpool and insisted he no longer has a relationship with Slot.
The Liverpool hierarchy and Slot made a joint decision to leave him out of the squad for the match against Inter, before bringing him back into the fold for their win over Brighton following peace talks.
Salah’s future is now uncertain with clubs from the Saudi Pro League circling ahead of the January transfer window and rumours of European clubs also being interested.
And now Football Transfers claim that Semenyo will be ‘critical in shaping the attacker’s immediate future’ despite Slot playing down the rift with Salah on Friday.
Slot told a press conference: “We moved on. He was in the squad and was the first substitution I made [against Brighton]. Now he’s got AFCON and will play some big games so it’s only fair that all focus is on them.”
The report adds: ‘Sources have revealed that Salah learned of contact between the Reds and in-form Bournemouth winger Semenyo, and this was central to his comment intimating that “someone wanted me out”.
‘The individual that Salah was referring to was primarily Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards.’
It is understood that ‘the Salah situation could also change’ if Liverpool were forced to sign Semenyo in January rather than their preferred option of a summer transfer, which would also be Bournemouth’s ideal time to sell.
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Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano brought an update on Salah’s future earlier this week, he said on his YouTube channel: “Many of you are asking what’s next now with Mohamed Salah. Mo is traveling for AFCON, so he will not be available for the next few weeks for Liverpool.
“What’s going to happen is that Mo Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas, will be in England to have conversations with Liverpool management and to discuss Mo’s situation.
“After Mo was out of the squad against Brentford, after Mo came back against Brighton, entering in the first half and delivering an assist, breaking another record and showing his quality once again, now it’s time for Mo Salah and his agent to talk to the club and to take a decision together on what’s going to happen next.
“Again guys, I maintain my information on what Liverpool believe. Liverpool say: ‘We are not in a hurry to sell Salah, to find a solution for Salah. If he wants to stay in these conditions, we are more than happy.’
“If he wants to go, Liverpool say: ‘Okay, bring a proposal to the table, show us the proposal, let us know what you have for us.’
“But at the moment, no official proposals, apart from Saudi interest, have arrived on Liverpool’s table for Salah. This is why there is going to be this meeting with his agent, to understand how to move forward in the next few weeks.”
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